News / National
93 years in jail for stealing guns in Zimbabwe
06 May 2011 at 07:22hrs | Views
Five men have been jailed for a combined 93 years for stealing firearms at Pomona Barracks.
Three former Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officers, aureni Mafara, Marxist Mwaruta and Chenjerai Gwirizha stole 20 AK47 rifles and a shotgun at the army base.
They will, however, effectively serve a collective jail term of 72 years after two regional magistrates suspended a combined 21 years on condition of good behaviour.
The daily papers says the State proved that ex-soldiers connived to steal the firearms alongside civilians Emmanuel Mashiri and Stanely Marange in a bid to sell the loot to poachers and armed robbers for a quick buck.
They stole the weapons through a well-orchestrated plan that shocked the ZNA, but their efforts were thwarted by the MDC-T intelligence unit which exposed the heist.
This was after Gwirizha, who had been tasked by his colleagues to find a prospective buyer for the assault rifles, approached MDC-T intelligence head Ray Gwezere with an offer to sell the arms of war.
After the offer, Gwezere reported the matter to the ZRP Law and Order Section and surveillance was put in place.
A trap was set up and Gwirizha was arrested along Park Lane, Harare, where he had arranged to meet Gwezere to transact the arms deal.
Upon his arrest Gwirizha implicated his accomplices, leading to their arrest and subsequent recovery of the weapons.
Sentencing the accused, regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire said:
"The danger that was posed to our society cannot be overemphasised.
"The accused's military skills were misdirected to committing offences. We thank the law-abiding citizens who exposed the scam."
Mafara, Mashiri and Marange pleaded guilty to breaking into the armoury and making off with the arms of war when they appeared in court two years ago.
They were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment each, but five years of each sentence were suspended on condition they do not commit a similar within that period.
Their accomplices Gwirizha and Mwaruta pleaded not guilty to the charge and went to trial after completion of which they were found guilty.
Nemadire Thursday jailed the pair to effective 15 and 12-year sentences respectively after suspending three years each.
Prosecutor Michael Reza appeared for the State while the convicts were not represented.
Three former Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officers, aureni Mafara, Marxist Mwaruta and Chenjerai Gwirizha stole 20 AK47 rifles and a shotgun at the army base.
They will, however, effectively serve a collective jail term of 72 years after two regional magistrates suspended a combined 21 years on condition of good behaviour.
The daily papers says the State proved that ex-soldiers connived to steal the firearms alongside civilians Emmanuel Mashiri and Stanely Marange in a bid to sell the loot to poachers and armed robbers for a quick buck.
They stole the weapons through a well-orchestrated plan that shocked the ZNA, but their efforts were thwarted by the MDC-T intelligence unit which exposed the heist.
This was after Gwirizha, who had been tasked by his colleagues to find a prospective buyer for the assault rifles, approached MDC-T intelligence head Ray Gwezere with an offer to sell the arms of war.
After the offer, Gwezere reported the matter to the ZRP Law and Order Section and surveillance was put in place.
A trap was set up and Gwirizha was arrested along Park Lane, Harare, where he had arranged to meet Gwezere to transact the arms deal.
Upon his arrest Gwirizha implicated his accomplices, leading to their arrest and subsequent recovery of the weapons.
Sentencing the accused, regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire said:
"The danger that was posed to our society cannot be overemphasised.
"The accused's military skills were misdirected to committing offences. We thank the law-abiding citizens who exposed the scam."
Mafara, Mashiri and Marange pleaded guilty to breaking into the armoury and making off with the arms of war when they appeared in court two years ago.
They were sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment each, but five years of each sentence were suspended on condition they do not commit a similar within that period.
Their accomplices Gwirizha and Mwaruta pleaded not guilty to the charge and went to trial after completion of which they were found guilty.
Nemadire Thursday jailed the pair to effective 15 and 12-year sentences respectively after suspending three years each.
Prosecutor Michael Reza appeared for the State while the convicts were not represented.
Source - NewsDay
